Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that fade to deepest black, and blue stars ice-speckling the impossibly long horizon.
Indeed, the local San insist that here you can hear 'the stars in song' behind the dark.
The Kalahari's 1.2-million-sq-km basin stretches across parts of the Democratic Repub-
lic of the Congo, Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and
in Botswana it also includes places like the Tsodilo Hills and Makgadikgadi Pans. But in
this section here we focus on the chain of parks and small towns that cut through the
centre and south of the country.
Ghanzi
POP 15,700
The 'capital of the Kalahari' isn't much more than a break in the dust. It may be difficult
to understand how a town could prosper in such inhospitable terrain, but it helps that
Ghanzi sits atop a 500km-long low limestone ridge containing vast amounts of artesian
water. The town itself is a place of few attractions, but its appeal lies in its statistics -
Ghanzi is 275km from Maun, 540km from Windhoek and 636km from Gaborone. Spend
any time in the country's west and you're likely to spend some time here, whether to fill
your petrol tank, stock up on supplies or get a good night's sleep.
Interestingly enough, the name 'Ghanzi' comes from the San word for a one-stringed
musical instrument with a gourd soundbox, and
not
the Setswana word
gantsi
(flies),
though this would arguably be more appropriate.
HENDRIK MATTHYS VAN ZYL
Since the 19th century, Ghanzi has served as a rest stop for traders and travellers crossing the Kalahari. Although
the town has seen its fair share of odd characters, perhaps the most infamous (and ruthless) individual to pass
through was a man by the name of Hendrik Matthys van Zyl.
During the 1860s and '70s, this former politician from the Transvaal in South Africa crossed the Kalahari on
several occasions, trading munitions, shooting elephants and killing San along the way. From 1877 to 1878 Van
Zyl based himself in the town of Ghanzi and proceeded to shoot more than 400 elephants, which yielded no less
than 4 tonnes of ivory. With the proceeds from the ivory sales, Van Zyl built a two-storey mansion with stained-
glass windows, filled it with imported furniture, and lived like a king in the poverty-stricken wilderness.
However, Van Zyl was suddenly and mysteriously killed in 1880, which gave rise to a series of legends sur-
rounding the cause of his death. According to one tale, Van Zyl was murdered by a revenge-seeking San, possibly
one of his own servants. Another tale claims that he was murdered by the Khoikhoi people in retaliation for past
